Year 93 of the Cosmic Era. This is a time of crisis for humanity.
The 1st Colonial Fleet had finally reached their destination, only to be cut off from landing on the habitable Terran-class planet they stumbled upon. Their alien enemy killed Lacus Clyne without even giving peace talks a chance, and the two massive fleets have since been locked in a stalemate. After the TF Sabre assault on a patrol fleet sent out by the ETs, the remnants of the task force returned to the fleet, minus many good mobile suit pilots. It was time to get replacements, and some new MS to fill the ranks again. As the supply convoy comes to a sudden halt in their hyperspace tunnel, the new people are greeted by three notable sights. The Colony Fleet, the ET Fleet visible only on scanners and zoomed-in video, and the Terran planet. The shuttles full of replacements head towards Cradle #2, 'Prosperity', while the ships carrying the spare mobile suits deploy their loads around the fleet.

"Hey, you two for the Minerva - you're getting off here." The shuttle captain said, two fingers pointed at Xanotos and Akira respectively as the shuttle docked at one of the many airlocks that would lead into the hulking colony ship. "I'm told you'll be meeting with the rest of the Aotisa Team once you're inside the main hangar here. Don't forget your luggage, and good hunting," the captain smirked as the shuttle jolted to a stop and the airlocks joined together. The blast doors opened up, and he gave the two ZAFT Reds a thumbs up.

The dock was a huge metallic structure, sealed from outer space's vacuum by two massive horizontal blast doors. There was indeed a ship docked here, the Minerva - one of the finest builds among the ZAFT fleet. The battlecarrier was slightly damaged, peppered by small beam weaponry. Engineers crowded the ship's frame repairing the minor damages, enjoying the ease in the work thanks to this zero-gravity environment. There was only artificial gravity on the inside of the ship, where people went about their daily lives as if they were on a real planet.

And just as the shuttle captain had said, there was a few red-uniformed pilots just beginning to leave the ship. Two girls who looked far too young to be 'Red Aces', and there was a black-haired young man leading the way as they drifted away from the ship and towards the two new additions to the Aotisa Team...

---

The left sleeve of Izumi's uniform red coat was rolled up, a thick bandaging and a sling spanning all over her hand, forearm and elbow. The damage from two weeks back still hadn't healed well enough, but she was finally allowed to head back to the Minerva a few days ago. And now, there was a little leave time for the pilots whilst the battlecarrier was in repairs. This gave Izumi a little more time to heal and get her head straight after whatever caused her to fall comatose. Like a proper ZAFT Red, she wore the whole uniform - but with her injury she wore the coat open to reveal the light blue and black shirt underneath. Her friend Lucia didn't follow the proper dress code, deciding to wear a pink skirt and thighhigh socks with her uniform. In zero gravity. It's a wonder the damn skirt stayed down! This totally went against Izzy's protests that it would backfire one day and be embarrassing, rather than hot-looking.

Izumi waved to the two who'd just stepped off the shuttle with her good arm, while Lucia stayed beside her in case she needed a hand. Being down one limb in zero grav' was harder than it looked. They would wait for Zerenis to introduce himself first, being that he was team leader and all.

"You guys had a nice flight?" Izumi called over to them as she landed on the metal floor with the other two, grabbing hold of a railing so as not to drift off.

Akira cautiously made his way out of the ship. Moving through the zero Gravity wasn't very easy, but it wasn't like it was particularly difficult. Once he reached the metal floor he found himself holding onto the railing tightly so as not to drift away himself. "This is... Wow..." He said in awe of pretty much his new life. This seemed so much more... He didn't even know the word to describe it. Still he shook his head and snapped himself out of his stupor in order to respond to Izumi who'd asked how the flight was. "Th-the flight was good. Th-thank you." He spoke with a bit of a stutter. He was nervous, of course. He didn't think he could measure up to the team he'd been placed in. Especially when one considered his lack of actual battle experience. He was a rookie. A novice.

Akira had a lot to learn and he knew that, but that didn't mean it didn't worry him. What if he choked? What if he messed up? All the what if scenarios started playing back in his mind. He was kind of zoning out on it. This was kind of an exciting day for him. "But wait..." He whispered to himself almost inaudibly as he took a look around at the people surrounding him. AM I THE YOUNGEST ONE HERE?! This probably didn't matter, but in his mind there was a bit more pressure now. Still regardless of everything he just hoped he could become skillful enough to be useful to this team without bringing them down. Too many mistakes... hell... Any mistakes at all could be dangerous. or worse, fatal.

"Akira Saito, fresh out of the academy with flying colours, not a day's actual combat experience. Not a problem for us, to say the least." Zerenis said, having recited that first sentence as though he'd read it right out of a Dossier, but there wasn't any venom to his voice when he said it, nor was he making any faces that would otherwise intimidate the red coat.

"Welcome to Aotisa team. I'm the team leader, Zerenis. The blue haired Red Coat there is Izumi, and her brown haired companion is Lucia." Zerenis said, offering his hand out for a handshake to Akira.

"Rest assured, you're in good hands. We'll make sure we get you up and flying in no time." Zerenis said, giving Akira a reassuring smile.

Xanotos floats over to Zerenis and salutes "Sir, Xanotos Albrem reporting for transfer." He hands Zerenis a file "As you will see ,sir, I am more than qualified for the position I am about to undertake. Sir, I have over 150 hours of actual pilot time and well over 200 hours in the simulator." Xanotos just stands there waiting for the commanders reply. He is anxious of his first assignment, but this is what hes been waiting for, the moment when his sword will pass through the cockpit of the enemy mobile suits. "Sir, I am prepared to follow your orders down to the letter." He says proudly to his new squadron commander.

"I appreciate your eagerness for the task at hand, Xanotos, but no amount of simulations and practice flights can fully prepare you for what we're up against out here in the colonial fleet." Zerenis said, as he looked at the pilot, as if trying to size him up while reading his file.

"Seems he's eager to gain glory out here in the field. A noble pursuit, but also a concerning one. Overconfidence in this war is likely to result in certain death." Zerenis thought to himself, before responding to Xanotos' remark on following orders.

"Following my orders to the letter is all well and good, but what if I can't issue orders to you for one reason or another? If you can't come up with your own solutions to the situation, ideally with minimal to no risk to yourself, you're going to be in for a tough time. What I'm trying to say is, sometimes you will need to deviate from the norm and think for yourself. Know this though; The decisions that we make, are ultimately the ones that we have to live with, for better or worse." Zerenis said to the pilot, before saluting them.

"While I may be your squadron leader, I don't see myself as superior to you. In fact, I view my team mates as equals. I count on them to cover my shortcomings, and I'll watch theirs in return. But know this; If the order to withdraw is given, you are to follow it immediately. Those orders are often given when the odds are stacked against us."

"I like this guy's attitude..." Izumi smirked and pointed at Xanotos as he made his very soldier-y introduction, while Lucia seemed more focused on the obvious rookie with a mixed expression of disappointment and pity. It's like they brought in two complete opposites! One might wonder if they butted heads on the shuttle ride here, but the blonde one didn't seem like he could win a fight, let alone throw himself into one! "But just like our glorious leader here says, we're not going up against things that are particularly easy to take out. Remote-controlled, or AI-controlled mobile suits, and they're crazy fast. You two better be ready for anything they throw at us - we're a team and we're going to keep each other breathing out there," Izumi concluded for the moment, approaching the new guys and offering her hand for each of them to shake.

Lucia raised an eyebrow at the rookie and scratched her neck, "Boss, are you sure this guy is the right replacement? I mean, he's shaking in his boots," the French girl deadpanned. At least she was being honest, ...not that it was very kind or anything!

"Ah... Well... Getting out of the academy with flying colors is nothing compared to actual battle experience sir." Akira was quick to humble himself as Zerenis seemed to recite lines you'd likely see in a file. "None the less I'll be in your care. Please teach me anything and everything you can." He said before Xanatos joined them. He seemed so much more ready and confident than Akira was. Still what could one really expect. Zerenis' words which would follow the introduction were much like Akira's own thoughts. This team didn't seem to sugar coat the situation at hand. It was a bit of a relief, but also kind of disappointing when more blunt subjects came into question. He'd learn this little fact when Lucia spoke. She was right. That didn't didn't mean it wasn't a disheartening statement for Akira to hear to say the least.

"I-if I may Ms. Lucia..." He paused for a moment seeming to be trying to gathering his own thoughts. The runt had spoken up to defend himself without preparing much before hand. Finally, he gave a slight sigh seeming to give up. "I... I know I may not be the ideal soldier. I spent most of my ride wondering how it is I even managed to get myself to this point. But I do know that I want to be of use to all of you. I want to fight. I want... Well... I want..." This was the truth, but something about it... He felt so half hearted saying it. He did want what he said, but he wasn't sure if he could do it himself. This meeting felt like it was lasting too long... Like forever even. When would they venture past this somewhat agonizing point he wondered as he looked down at the metal floor.

Xanotos throws up another salute to Zerenis "Yes sir! I can handle myself in whatever situation arises." Xanotos steps back from the commander and over to Izumi to shake her hand "A computer program is no match for the intuition and perception of a Human. But apparently it can get close." Xan says gesturing to Izumi's arm. Seeing the war torn crew and ships, Xans confidence was fading a bit, but that wasn't going to stop him from becoming the best pilot on this ship. "Well I'm going to make sure my GOUF gets loaded without any incidents. I'll be seeing you around." Xan says as he floats off to the hangar.

"I think you'll first need to learn to have some self-confidence. If you're not confident about what you're going to get yourself into, then this could jeopardize the entire team. Though if you let it go to your head, you'll end up repeating the same mistake Maddox made. Sure we dealt a blow to the enemy, but we lost a fair bit ourselves too. Were it not for an independent organization happening to be there in the time, Izumi would likely not be here with us right now." Zerenis said, placing one hand on Akira's shoulder.

"We're currently not planning any major skirmishes as far as I'm aware, and the ETs will likely be licking their own wounds as well, so if there were ever a time to get you up and combat ready, I see no better time for a mock MS Battle than now. Firstly, you should get yourself familiarized with the ship and get settled in. We'll start the practise session as soon as you're ready. I'll do the same for Xanotos as well; I'd like to gauge where you're at in terms of skill, and identify your weak points and strong points."

"And while you guys do that, Lucia and I were going to head into Prosperity City for a while. Unless you'd like to keep her for the mock, I mean. I can do the shopping myself," Izumi said casually to her team leader. No doubt about it, Izzy was talking contraband. Not that she bought drugs or anything, just some stuff to make off-duty times more fun and/or relaxing. This included alcoholic drinks, video games, music and other things you wouldn't quite expect to find on a military-run ship. It's not like the Captain cared about any of this, unless of course the team were expected to pilot within a few hours time.

"Oh, and Akira, you want anything in particular?" Izumi asked. "I would have asked Xano too, but he seemed pretty keen to get on board. In fact, if the guy wants anything I'll keep my mobile handy."

Lucia rolled her eyes and started floating back to the ship. Downtime would just have to wait... Couldn't blame Zerenis though - these two deserved a chance to warm up and show the existing team what they could do. She noticed as she floated to the hangar that a set of Impulse Gundam parts were being loaded on. Xanotos said he had a GOUF, so that meant... "The newbie has an Impulse... Guess this means I'm taking a student."

"Um... N-nothing in particular. Anything to pass the time when we aren't busy I guess." Akira answered before thinking for a moment about a little spar. "Oh!" He realized for a second that he needed to check on his Mobile Suit. "Thank you for reminding me sir. I-I'll go check on my Impulse and prepare myself for the mock battle." He said as hestarted floating off back to the ship. In the hurry he was in he went right past Lucia into the hangar to check. "Alright... It's here." He said rather relieved to see the Impulse parts. "Maybe I'm worrying too much and over thinking things. I may be a little green, but... I'm sure if I can learn quick enough I can become a valuable asset to the team." He clenched his fists. "Alright. I'm gonna be an ace pilot. And I'll help us become victorious against the ETs. Of course, the ambition was a bit... Well... he wanted what he wanted. He was determined. Though still unsure. However, he reflected on what Zerenis said. "Self-confidence." He mumbled to himself as he unclenched his fists and looked at his hands. Could he really do it?

"I'm going to go with Izumi, just in case there's a couple of things she can't carry back with her for obvious reasons." Zerenis said, walking over to the blue haired pilot.

"As the veterans fall, those that are green as grass take their place... It's a sad reality." Zerenis said, to no-one in particular.

"Mobile suits can be replaced, but the pilots who are at the controls..." Zerenis said, gritting his teeth at the amount of casualties Task Force Sabre suffered because of Maddox's idiocy.

Xan looks over a tablet linked up to his GOUF's computer "Mhm, everything looks like its in check. Just run over everything one more time before the first engagement." Xan tells an engineer. He sees Akira enter the hangar and pushes himself off to GOUF over to him. "Are you nervous? If so, you shouldn't be." Xan asks Akira "When we first left the solar system I was. But now that we've gotten here, its seems to have gone away. If theres one thing Ive learned in life; you have to be sure of yourself. Whenever you second guess yourself it gives the enemy time to rethink their strategy. Its better to be wrong with your first guess, than be right and change your mind."

"You should both be a little scared," Lucia joined in, floating up beside the two and hanging on to the railing so she wouldn't drift away. It was strange... Just three weeks ago, she was 'green' - but now that she'd fought in two battles and had been lucky enough to survive, she was considered a seasoned pilot. Three weeks ago she wouldn't even think of giving anyone advice... "You two need to know what we're up against. I'm not going through the trouble of setting up a mock battle with a bunch of training gear - you have to know your enemy. Trying to simulate the chaos just isn't going to work. Come with me," she pulled herself past Akira and Xanotos using the railings before pushing herself towards a door that led to the Minerva's interior. They would be headed to the briefing room...

"...So, where did you two come from? Any family? Reasons for joining ZAFT as pilots? Favourite colours?" Lucia started friendily chatting to them along the way. So she wasn't a cold person, just kind of serious on these matters of war. Couldn't blame her for it, not after the hell Aotisa Team barely pulled themselves through... These new guys were taking the place of two green-uniform pilots, but they were still more experienced than the new Reds.

---

The inside of Cradle 2, 'Prosperity', was so Earth-like. There was even a sky that decieved the eyes of all those staring up at it. Cutting edge technology made life in this massive colony craft seem so.. real! Thousands of homes, shops, farms, factories. This place even had it's own miniature sea for colony residents to go fishing in, or sunbathing at the beach! It was truly a magnificent sight to behold... At least, until Izumi saw the people. Children, parents, ...innocent lives. Her heart sank, and something blocked off her throat as a wave of realization came over her. It was her job to keep them all alive, even if it cost her own. The ETs would stop at nothing to kill every man, woman and child on board the Cradles. It wasn't an inspiring sight anymore - Izumi dreaded the idea of having to see everyone here die because the fleet couldn't hold their own.

"Zer.." Izumi cleared her throat and turned her gaze to the city in front of them, "Boss, let's get going huh? We've got shopping to do~" she said, her tone and expession definitely got brighter at her mention of shopping!

Akira jumped a bit when Xan approached him. He'd been so focused on checking the Impulse he hadn't been completely aware of his surrounding. Of course, this may have been because Xanatos wasn't what his mind registered as a real threat. "Thanks for the words of advice. It's true I feel a little nervous, but I think it goes further than that." He said calmly. I was so sure of everything I did at the academy. But this.." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "It not just simulations anymore. It's life. Not just mine either." Still with that thought out he managed to smile. "Still... Thank you. I think that I'll feel better after I've adjusted to the change." He finally said before Lucia joined them.

This of course, made him jump just as he had with Xanatos. "Ah... L-Lucia. You were here?" He asked before quieting up a bit and listening to her. She was going to show them what they were up against. Akira was curious to be honest. He wanted to know. Though he was sure knowing wouldn't do anything for his nervousness. Or his confidence. "Oh... Um... I'm of the Orb Union. I live with my mother and have two siblings. Both younger than me." Akira smiled while discussing his family. He treasured them. "Still... I joined because I wanted to change myself. And I wanted to help my family. I don't want anything to happen to them. If I can become strong. I can protect them." He said growing a bit more cheerful. "Oh and as far as my favorite color goes. Red I suppose." He admitted laughing a bit. "What about you Lucia?" He asked trying not to seem as awkward as earlier.

Xan follows the two towards the briefing room "Me, I'm from Aprillus 12 in the Plants. My parents and brother lives there, but I don't really talk to them any more. Reason for joining? Thats not so easily answered. I'm still trying to figure it out for myself, I guess i just didn't want a 'normal' life. The thought of sitting in a cylinder every day and punching numbers into a computer absolutely bores me. But other than that theres no deep motive for me joining." He answers as they gently float along. "and favorite color.. I'd have to say white."

Folding his arms, Zerenis let out a sigh, before turning to look at Izumi.

"Just don't go overboard. Since you're down to one arm and there's only two of us, there is only so much we can carry between us." Zerenis said, as he followed Izumi through Cradle 2, his mood taking a turn for the better.

---

Emerging from the briefing Room as Lucia and the new recruits proceeded towards it was none other than Cronic himself, and he seemed to be talking to the captain.

"So there's a shortage of Silhouettes for the Impulse, huh? Or should that be Impulses now? Either way, I'll see what I can do to remedy that problem, but I make no guarantees I'll be able to get them to you before the fighting kicks up again. Best of luck to you Captain." Cronic said, as he turned down the hall and began to make his way off the Ship and back into Cradle 2.

"I've other things to attend to as well, such as getting resources to the Junk Guild for the new units, along with keeping the fleet well stocked. This is going to be quite costly in the long term... Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Cronic said to himself, lost in his own thoughts.

"Hah, go ORB! Right Akira? ...Kinda sounds hypocritical though - we could've joined the ORB military as pilots... Me n' tri-tails only joined ZAFT instead because Izzy didn't want to get special treatment - she's practically royalty." Lucia chattered along, pushing herself through the corridor until they came upon a room with a large table in the centre. This was the briefing, conference, whatever room. It was quality, too! Leather seats! "Uh, you two take a seat. I'll be with you in just a sec'," Lucia said as she began searching through recent action recordings, the large monitor changing between different pilot's views. As Cronic from the CSC and Captain Rush, the ship's captain left, Lucia gave them both a short salute. The date of the recordings said it was only two weeks ago, during the most aggressive combat between humanity's forces and the ET Armada. After scrolling back through videos quite a ways, it came to the conflict's moment of first contact.

'VALENTINE, LUCIA R.' was printed on the top left corner of the recording, with the date and time on the top right corner. As it began playing, Lucia went to sit with the two replacement pilots. There was a large ship peppered with various communications apparatus that was supposedly going to help Lacus Clyne speak to the ETs. As of this moment in the recording, nothing had happened - not a single shot. Hopes were high, hostilities unexpected... It played for about 2 minutes until a large beam tore through the envoy ship, supposedly killing Lacus Clyne and everyone on board, not even an escape pod made it out of the explosion.

"Aunt Lacus... Wh... What the fuck did you do that for?! She just wanted to talk to you!" Izumi's voice picked up. Between Izumi and Zerenis, there was enough rage to go around - Lucia was silently preparing for battle before the ETs opened fire on the three-ship escort. In what seemed like no time at all, the Minerva's mobile suit team was getting swarmed by remote-controller mobile suits that came from the ET fleet. Despite Izumi and Zerenis taking down a damn Carrier by themselves, the 'mobile dolls' as they'd became known just kept coming until the order to retreat was finally issued. The dolls were fast, but their weapons weren't very powerful, their armour was light. The whole video took about fifteen minutes to play over.

When the recording finished as the Minerva's team returned, Lucia stood up and pressed a button on the bottom of the large monitor and span around on her heel, "Okay! So, are you guys shivering yet? Kinda hard to fight something your eyes can't keep up with, huh?" she asked, eager for the two replacements' reactions to their challenging enemy.

---

"Correction: There is only so much you can carry." Izumi sharply replied, the grin on her face indicating she was just kidding around. It quickly faded though. It was a tad weird for this kid not to be smiling like an idiot on shore leave... Something felt off to Izumi personally, damned if she knew what it was. It just felt... familiar. That's all the feeling was. Shaking her head dismissively, that 'Izzy' spring in her step returned as if nothing was wrong at all.

"Where to first...? Drinks are heaviest so we'll grab those last. Let's go see what games n' music they brought aboard the Cradles!"

"More playing, less fighting~!" Izumi's personal Haro chirped from behind the two as the robotic ball rolled along the sidewalk. Izumi crouched down and let the Haro roll into her arm, before they continued on toward the shopping district.

"Could definitely use a break from the latter. Even if only for a time." Zerenis said in response to the Haro, before looking at Izumi.

"Just don't go overboard. I'm not exactly keen on throwing out my back today. Or any other day for that matter." Zerenis said, as he just kept an eye out for trouble as a just in case.

"The brightest lights cast the darkest shadows. Let's just hope this isn't a problem here." Zerenis thought to himself. Izumi had almost been lost to death's embrace once. He wasn't going to let some thug give the reaper a second chance.

---

Cronic, meanwhile, as he stepped onto the Cradle, and made his way back to the Escutcheon, took out a communicator and waited for the person on the receiving end of the call to answer it; Junk Guild's "Glitch".

"Glitch? I just got done with the meeting with the Minerva's captain. General resupplies are going to be needed, which is a given, and I can take care of that easily enough, but there's also a shortage of Impulse Silhouettes. And considering they now have two Impulse Gundam units on board, they're going to need plenty of spares. Impulse may be a four-part version of the Strike that can swap out damaged parts in mid-field, but if they run out of parts, there'll be a good few problems as a result. Think the junk guild can manage remedying that problem?"

Akira was wide eyed and seemed to be trembling in his seat. What he'd just seen was intense. It was more than intense. It was... It was... He didn't even know. "You can't be... And we're gonna have to..." He couldn't even finish his sentences. If he was nervous before he was a wreck. Even his somewhat pathetic appearance didn't properly display the mess that was on the inside. Akira wasn't expecting a walk in the park when he joined. But this... This was beyond anything he could have possibly imagined. "You... You survived that?" He asked Lucia. "How amazing of a pilot are you?" To anyone this may have just seemed to be a rookie sucking up, but he was serious. He was shocked.